Local Government in Asia and the Pacific:
A Comparative Study

Country paper: Thailand

  Description of the Country
  Evolution of Local Government
  Local Government Categories
  Local Government Functions
  Local Government Finances
  Public Participation
  The Way Ahead
  References

Brief Description of the Country and its National/State Government Structure

Demography

With an area of 513,115 square kilometres and a population of about 60 million (1996), Thailand may be considered as a medium size country in the Asia and Pacific region and a small country in a world scale comparison. Thailand is located in the centre of Southeast Asia. Its close neighbours are Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to the north, Cambodia and Vietnam to the east, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to the south and Myanmar to the west. The southern part of the country is a peninsula that links the Pacific Ocean (i.e. the South China Sea) and the Indian Ocean.

Figure 1. Map of Thailand

Thailand’s geographical location and favourable climatic conditions (much rainfall leading to fertile soil) have allowed the country to be prosperous, due to an extensive agricultural economy for most part of its history. Since the beginning the 1960s Thailand has embarked on modern economic development when it implemented the first five-year development plan, based on agriculture and manufacturing for export. In the past 40 years the country’s economy and society have changed dramatically. From a growth rate of 3 per cent, a population of 25 million and no debts in the 1950s, rates have respectively grown to about 8 per cent, 60 million and debts of almost 2 times GAP in the 1980s and mid-1990s. Since 1997 Thailand is enveloped, like most countries in the region in an economic crisis. As a result, Thailand experiencing difficulties in sustaining the prosperity and has witnessed a negative growth rate of the economy as of 1998.

During the years of rapid economic growth, the contribution of the agricultural section to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined from more than 80 per cent in the 1960s to 10.4 per cent in 1996. About 89 per cent of GDP are based on non-agricultural products whereas manufacturing contributed 32.6 per cent, equalling US$ 124,708 millions in 1996. Per capita income in the same year was US$ 2,022. Much of the wealth generated by this rapid economic development was accumulated in the central region of Thailand, especially in the provinces around Bangkok where most of the industries are located. This situation has drawn much of the labour from the agricultural sector in the North and Northeast to the cities in the central region. Migration from rural to urban areas in the 1960s and 1970s was partly pushed by poverty in rural economy and pulled by the demand for labour in the non-agricultural sector. Urban poverty was created by these developments and became a problem for most local governments throughout the 1980s. Like many other countries in this region rapid economic development was pursued at the costs of the country’s natural resources, especially land and forests, causing many environmental and social problems.

Table 1. Population Distribution (x 1000)

Source: National Statistical Office

Table 2. Distribution of Population in Urban and Rural areas (x 1,000)

Source: National Statistical Office

Table 3. Gross National Product and Growth Rates at 1988 Prices
(in millions of Baht)

Source: National Account Division, NESDB and Bank of Thailand

Evolution of Local Government, its Legal and Political Background

Before 1939, Thailand was known as Siam. In ancient times, Siam comprised several principalities. The most powerful among them, Sukhothai was able to dominate other principalities during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries and became known as the capital city of the ancient Thai state. During this period the government system was autocracy. The ruler was considered as a patriarch and ruled as an offspring and kinsmen. During the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, political power shifted to Ayuthaya. The traditional government system and social structure in Siam during this period was known as the Sakdina system, one that is similar to that of a feudal society. All land was owned by the ruler who granted land to members of the royal family and the nobility according to their ranks in the traditional bureaucratic hierarchy. Bureaucrats ran the affairs of the state. Peasants aged between 18 and 60 were subjected to register as corvee labour for the crown or individual noblemen. The former was known as Prai, the latter as Nai. A poor peasant who sold himself to a rich Nai became a slave. These relations constituted the Sakdina society that survived well into the nineteenth century. Sakdina Siam began to change under the pressure of western colonialism, when the British signed the Bowring Treaty with King Mongkut in 1842.

The treaty opened Thai economy to foreign trade. As a result of the treaty, the form of the state, government and other social and economic institutions were modernized along western styles. Modernization of the state, government and society was an essential part of social and political reforms. Seen in a historical perspective, reforms were necessitated by colonial threat and their success helped Thailand escape colonial rule. On the other hand, the power of indigenous elites and institutions was maintained and transformed into modern institutions. The reform initiated by King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910) established a government bureaucracy along western government styles. Central administration was introduced comprising of different ministries such as defense, finance, home affairs or interior, foreign affairs, trade, agriculture, education and public health. Provincial administration was organized in a few precincts. The first form of local government called sukhaphiban or "sanitary committee" was experimented with in 1898. The local government system in Thailand thus celebrated its centennial jubilee in 1998.

The function of the Sukhaphiban was to oversee the sanitary provisions for urban as well as rural districts. The Sukhaphiban of Bangkok was the first urban sanitary district, while Tha Chalom was the first rural sanitary district. Provincial government was initiated 16 years later through the Local Government Act of 1914. The law formally institutionalized the Sukhaphiban and set up provincial administrations to oversee their functioning all over the country. According to this law there were 2 types of Sukhapiban, namely Sukhaphiban Muang at a town level and Sukhaphiban Tambon at a subdistrict level. The political system saw a major change in 19932 when absolute monarchy was abolished by a military-civilian led coup d’etat. A European style parliamentary system was introduced together with a written Constitution. Over the past 66 years of modern Thai history, Thais have tried to establish a representative political system and experimented with 15 Constitutions, each short-lived and interrupted by long periods of military rule. A 99-member drafting council with a mandate to set a process of political reform in motion drafted the 16th Constitution in 1997. After 8 months of debates with considerable public participation, the law was passed by Parliament in September of the same year. If the 1932 coup started the first political reform, the 1997 Constitution laid down guidelines for the second reform.

Under the new Constitution, Parliament consists of 2 chambers, i.e. a 500-member House of Representatives and a 200-member elected Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 100 proportional representatives and 400 MPs directly elected from 400 constituencies. The new Constitution is believed to render the political system more stable, transparent and participatory. In terms of the evolution of Thailand’s government system, the Public Administration Act was first promulgated in 1933, shortly after the 1932 coup. The act laid down the foundation of the country’s administrative structure in 3 levels:

• Central administration, comprising the office of the Prime Minister, 13 ministries and 36 Ministers (according to the 1997 Constitution) constituting a Cabinet. The ministries include agriculture, industry, commerce, finance, defense, foreign affairs, communications, interior, labour and social welfare, education, public health, science and technology, environment and university affairs;
• Provincial administration staffed by provincial governors and district officers. The country is administratively divided into 75 provinces. A governor and his deputies head the administration of a province. Provinces are administratively divided into a number of districts, headed by district officers falling under the responsibility of the provincial governor. A district is divided into subdistricts (Tambon) is headed by a subdistrict chief (Kamnan). A subdistrict consists of several villages, headed by village heads; and
• Local administration or local government, taking six different forms whose characteristics will be described below. The local administration and provincial administration are to some extent overlapping.

Figure 2. Government Structure

Thailand is divided administratively into provinces, districts and subdistricts. These are administrative areas under the authority of the provincial administration. At the same time these are the geographical areas in which the various local government forms function. The provincial governors and district officers are the major authorities in the provincial administration and act as the representatives of the central government in the provinces. Administrative power is, however, centralized at the level of the central administration. The Department of Local Administration, under the Ministry of the Interior, is in charge of provincial as well as local administration. Other departments of the central government also have their branch offices in the provinces. The provincial administration superimposes the authority and functions of local governments and is essentially an appointed agent of the central government, through the Ministry of the Interior. To a large extent, the administrative power of local governments in the provinces is wielded under these central government agents, i.e. governors and district officers. The relationship between these levels of government clearly suggests an important degree of centralization.

Local Government Categories and Hierarchies

Local government in Thailand is organized in 6 different forms; equally distributed among urban and rural areas. Urban-based forms of local government include:

• The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), a strong-executive form of local government specific to Bangkok;
• The Municipality, governing urban centres in the provinces; and
• The City of Pattaya, a local government form of a city-manager specific to Pattaya.

Rural-based forms of local government include:

• The Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) that constituting local government at a provincial level;
• The Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO) constituting local government at a subdistrict level; and
• The Sukhapiban or Sanitary Committee, a local government in a rural centre, often referred to as a sanitary district.

Table 4. Forms and Characteristics of Local Government (1997)

*The Provincial Administration Organization Act (1997) states the Provincial Administration Assembly to elect the chief executive of the PAO and reduces the Assembly’s term to 4 years

Note: Each of these forms of local government is operating independent from the others. However, all are subjected to a considerable degree of control by the central government through the Department of Local Administration, the Ministry of the Interior.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)

Bangkok is the largest city in the country, covering 1,565 square kilometres. According to official statistics, Bangkok’s population is 7 million. However, it is generally known that about 30 per cent of Bangkok’s residents are not registered because of their mobility between the city and the provinces. The actual population size of Bangkok is believed to be about 10 million, i.e. 6 times larger than the population of Chiangmai, Thailand’s second largest city. Bangkok-centred economic growth in the past 4 decades resulted in massive urbanization. Bangkok has become what is known as a primate city: the largest in the country consuming most of the country’s resources. All important economic activities as well as political, educational and cultural institutions and international links are centred in Bangkok. The city fared a per capita income of 203,000 Baht (about US$ 8,120) in 1994, 3.3 times more than the national average. The rapid growth of urbanization and concentration of most of the resources requires Bangkok to have a more sophisticated local government system. Under the Public Administration Act of 1933 Bangkok was part of the provincial administration. At the same time the Municipality Act of 1933 established Bangkok as a municipality.

In 1971 Bangkok municipality was merged with Thonburi municipality, the city on the opposite bank of Chao Phraya river. The new city became Bangkok-Thonburi Metropolitan municipality. A year later the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Act of 1972 was enacted which merged the municipality with the Provincial Administrative Organizations of Bangkok and Thonburi. The merger was completed 13 years later when the Bangkok Administration Act of 1985 was promulgated. The act shaped the present form Bangkok’s local government. The city is divided into 38 districts and numerous subdistricts, headed by appointed officers. The governor is the chief executive of Bangkok who is directly elected by voters. He appoints 4 deputy governors and all the district officers. The Bangkok Metropolitan Assembly is the elected legislative branch of the administration. At district level, a council of 7-10 members is elected to act as a liaison between the people and the district officers. Besides its legislative functions, the Assembly performs checks and balances on the executive but cannot recall the governor. The governor may be recalled by a referendum or dismissed by the Minister of Interior. The BMA falls directly under the supervision of the Minister of Interior.

Figure 3. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration

Municipality

A municipality is based on the council-mayor form of local government. In 1996 there were 146 municipalities divided over 3 categories:

• 9 City municipalities;
• 89 Town municipalities; and
• 48 Tambon municipalities.

The specific characteristics of these categories are described below. Generally a municipality resembles the division of power at the national level. A municipality council functions as a legislative branch of government, while the municipal executive board constitutes the executive branch. Voters elect the municipal council, whereas the mayor of the council elects the chief executive. The mayor then appoints 2-4 councilors as members of the executive board. The council may approve or disapprove of the executive board’s policies and plans. However, the council cannot recall or dissolve the executive board but can suggest the provincial governor, who acts in the name of the Minister of Interior, to dissolve the executive board to recall the mayor. Actual power is in the hands of the provincial governor who is a representative of the central government.

Figure 4. Municipal Structure

City of Pattaya

Pattaya is a tourist resort city on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The Government of this city takes the form of a council-manager. This form of local government has only been experimented with in Pattaya. The City of Pattaya was established in 1978, has a population of 29,000 and covers 22 square kilometres of urban community and 186 square kilometres of rural districts on 3 islands. The City Council has 17 members, 9 of them are elected while 8 are appointed. A manager is hired by the City Council on a 4-year contract to govern the city and may hire 2 deputy managers. The manager answers to the City Council and manages the city according to policy guidelines given by the Council.

Figure 5. Pattaya City Government Structure

Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO)

The structure of a Provincial Administrative Organization is similar to that of a municipality. The organization comprises an elected provincial council that functions as a legislative branch and an executive board. Until 1997 the provincial governor was by law the chief executive of a PAO. The amendment of the Provincial Administrative Organization Act in 1997 allows a chief executive to be elected by the councilors. There are 75 councils in the country and thus 75 provincial administrative organizations. The Provincial Administrative Organization represents all rural areas of a province.

Figure 6. Provincial Administrative Organisation

Tambon Administrative Organization (TOA)

A Tambon is a rural administrative division at a subdistrict level compromising of a few villages. Since 1972, every Tambon in the country has a Tambon council, a consultative body that gives advice to the chief of a Tambon. The chief and the Tambon council are part of the provincial administration under the supervision of a district officer and the provincial governor. In 1994 the latest TAO was established. By 1997 there were 2,761 TAOs throughout the country. The organization also takes the council-executive form of government. Members of a Tambon council are partly elected by voters and partly appointed by the provincial governor. The chief executive of the organization is the Kamnan who is appointed by the governor. The area of jurisdiction of a Tambon administrative organization overlaps with that of the provincial administrative organization (PAO) since a Tambon is a smaller division of a district and the district is a smaller division of a province. The districts and subdistricts are the administrative areas under the jurisdiction of PAO.

Figure 7. Tambon Administrative Organisation

Sukhapiban

The Sukhapiban, also known as a sanitary district, is the smallest and oldest form of local government in Thailand. It began in urban centres hundreds of years ago. Since then, a few have evolved into municipalities and one into a metropolitan administration, i.e. Bangkok. In 1996, there were 984 Sukhapiban throughout the country, mostly in rural centres. The Sukhapiban takes the forms of a committee, chaired by a district officer who is a provincial administration official and comprising of 9 members; 3 elected, 3 appointed and 3 ex-officio. The main function of Sukhapiban is to provide and maintain basic sanitary services to the communities.

Figure 8. Sukhapiban Committee

Local Government Functions

Generally local government functions may be classified into 3 types: statutory, discretionary and those specified by other legislation. The laws that establish each particular form of local government specify statutory and discretionary functions. All forms of local government perform similar functions. However, urban local governments perform more complex services than rural local governments. The following specification of local government functions is based on those of urban local governments:

Statutory functions

• Maintenance of law and order;
• Provision of public transport;
• Provision of sanitary services (water supply, waste disposal, sewage and drainage);
• Provision of fire engines;
• Prevention and control of communicable diseases;
• Provision of slaughterhouses;
• Provision of public health services;
• Provision of welfare for mothers and children;
• Provision and maintenance of public recreation space and facilities; and
• Provision of primary education.

Discretionary functions

• Provision of market places, ports and ferry services;
• Provision of crematoriums;
• Provision and maintenance of hospitals;
• Provision of public utilities;
• Provision and maintenance of parks, zoos and recreation areas as well as sport facilities;
• Provision of vocational training;
• Promotion of citizen’s occupation;
• Improvement of slum dwellings; and
• Maintaining government enterprises.

Functions specified by specific legislation

• The Voice Advertisement Act of 1950;
• The Civil Registration Act of 1956;
• The National Order and Cleanliness Act of 1960;
• The Car Park Act of 1960;
• The City Planning Act of 1975;
• The Building Control Act of 1979; and
• The Civil defence Act of 1979.

Considering the above functions, the scope of local government function is very limited. Rural local government functions are further limited by the overlap of authority between that of local government and provincial administration. Many functions at the level of local government are performed by the central government whose departments extend their operations into the provinces. For example, this includes the department of public works, the country and town-planning department, the department of public health and the revenue department. This not only leads to confusion but also impedes the development and growth of local government as a whole.

Local Government Finances

Local government finance involves the planning and management of 2 major activities: revenue collection and expenditure. All local government bodies follow a financial administration procedure that comprises 6 stages.

Development planning

Following the policy guidelines the executive local government unit formulates annual and five-year development plans. The plans serve as a general framework within which annual budgeting is prepared.

Annual budgeting

Normally local government units plan their administrative and development expenditures well within the limit of the expected revenues. Budgeting of development projects has to be in line with the annual and five-year development plans. The chief executive will submit the annual budget to the legislative branch of local government for debate and approval well before the beginning of the next fiscal year.

Revenue collection

Once the annual budget is passed in the form of a local government ordinance, the local government unit will collect revenues as specified by concerned laws and regulations.

Procurement and reimbursement

Administrative procedures in the day-to-day work involve procurement and reimbursement.

Accounting and auditing

Routine procedures carried out both internally and externally. The General Auditing Bureau, a central government department, carries out the external auditing.

Revenue structure

All units of local government draw their revenues from 4 main sources: tax collection, grants by central government, properties and enterprises and loans. These revenues may be categorized as follows:

Figure 9. Local Government Revenues

Table 5. Local Government Revenues 1985-1992 (in millions of Baht)

Source: Chuwong Chayabutra, Thai Local Government (1997) p. 344

Figure 10. Allocation of Value Added Tax

Local government expenditure

Generally local government expenditures may be classified into 2 groups:

• Administrative expenditures which comprise wages, salary, remuneration, costs of utilities, cost of materials and grants; and
   
• Investment expenditures which include costs of construction, land and equipment. Usually investment expenditures represent the costs of development projects undertaken by local government.

Problems of local government finance

Inadequate revenues

As indicated earlier, local government in Thailand is subjected to strong control by the central government. Consequentlly, most resources and revenues generated are drawn into the centre. What is left to the local government is hardly adequate to meet the needs of local communities, both urban and rural. As shown in table 5, local government revenues are too low, on average 1.2 per cent of GDP, or 7 per cent of central government revenues. This imposes a serious constraint for local governments.

Firstly, it restricts the capacity of local governments to deliver basic services to the fast growing communities, especially the urbanized ones. Secondly, the capacity to plan and implement development projects on their own initiative is severely restricted by inadequate revenues. More than 90 per cent of national public expenditure is in the hands of the central government ministries and departments. Therefore the central government departments undertake most development projects in local communities, urban and rural alike. All local governments are dependent on the central government for grants in order to implement larger development projects. Secondly most local governments in Thailand, perhaps with the exception of the BMA, have not grown much in terms of capacity to provide services and meet the needs of rapidly growing local communities and their problems. The traffic problem in most big cities, especially in Bangkok, is a case in point. Thirdly, low revenue restricts the capacity of the local government to acquire for their development projects because of the inability to repay. In order to take loans a local government must win approval from the central government for the proposed project. Only a few large local governments (e.g. the BMA, Chiangmai Municipality and City of Pattaya) raise funds through loans.

Unequal distribution of revenues

The majority of national wealth in terms of government revenues is concentrated in the hands of the central government, which in turn redistributes a small proportion to local governments. Out of these allocations, BMA alone receives 60 per cent, while 144 municipalities, 75 PAOs, 2,761 TAOs and 986 Sukhapiban receive the rest. Grants from the central government are also distributed unequally. A few big cities like Bangkok, Chiangmai and Hat Yai get the most of these grants, leaving smaller cities behind.

Extent of Public Participation

In principle, local government is the basic unit of a democratic political system. At the level of local government people participate in the political system through the election of the executive and the legislative branches of government. Other than voting in these elections, people’s participation in any level of local government is minimal. No clause in local government legislation provides a legal channel through which the people may participate in the day-to day administration of local affairs. The only exception is the provision in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Act of 1975 that stipulates that the city's governor may be recalled by a referendum. The provision has never been put in practice.

The reason why direct participation in local government has been minimal may be attributed to 2 major factors. First, most legislation does not provide legal means by which the people may directly participate in the affairs of local government. In situations of conflict between citizens and local government, the first often take the issue to the street in the spirit of petition and protest. Only then the conflict is reported in the media, but not necessarily the solution. Such action only initiates a negotiation process. In case of conflicts between the local governments and the central government, there is no legal framework to take care of them. Therefore all disputes between local governments and central government departments, or among local governments are resolved at the level of the central government, normally relying on the judgment of the Department of Local Administration. This is a result of the centralization of governance in the public administration system. Local governments often resort to collective pressure through a representation by the associations of local government, for example the League of Municipalities or the Association of Kamnans.

Under the 1997 Constitution, however, more leeway is provided for people’s participation in the affairs of the state. These include, for example, a court of governance (Articles 276-280) where the conflicts between citizens and the state and their officials are settled. A Parliamentary Ombudsman will be established to receive complaints and petitions. An independent anti-corruption commission will also be created by Parliament to conduct investigations. These institutions and legal frameworks are believed to provide adequate channels and means for the people to participate in the affairs of the state. It is also believed that the political reform underway will bring about many fundamental changes in the relationship between the state and society.

Second, the general public by and large has little knowledge about local government. This is not surprising. Secondary as well as higher education in the country hardly teaches about local government. Except for those studying political science, most graduates from Thai universities are inadequately informed about the structure and the functioning of local government. They are aware of the existence of the various forms of local government and the right to vote in local government elections. Otherwise, little is known about the functioning, the problems and the general affairs of local government. The media coverage generally reports more about politics and the affairs of the central government. This is one of the most important problems of local government in Thailand as raised by Thanet Charoenmuang (1997) in his study of 100 years of Thai local government.

The Way Ahead

In the current process of political reform, a revival of interest in local government may be expected. Under the 1997 Constitution, the need for people’s participation in local government is specially emphasized. All members of the legislative and executive branches of local government must be elected and may be recalled by the people’s collective petitions. Three fourth of the electorates in a constituency is required to petition and start the investigation process. Moreover, the new Constitution stipulates that the central government must allow autonomy for local government "according to the principles of self-government and local people’s will" (Article 282.) According to Article 283 the supervision of local government may be maintained only as required by law and if it is in the interest of local people or of the country at large. Supervision must not infringe upon the essentials of the principal of self-government. More specifically Article 283 of the 1997 Constitution stipulates that all local governments must have the autonomy to formulate their own policies in government, general management, personnel management and finance as well as to determine their authority vis-a-vis the central government and other local governments.

Furthermore Article 283 stipulates that, in order to be able to truly decentralize, legislation specifying plans and the implementation process of decentralization must be passed. These plans must determine the authority and responsibility of local government in the provision of public services and how tax revenues are allocated. Besides the law should establish an operational committee, comprising of representatives of central and local governments and experts with a mandate of carrying out the desired reform. The relationship between the central and local government, according to Article 283 must be reviewed periodically, not longer than after 5 years. All this is to ensure that decentralization of government power is actually put into practice, tested and improved.

Once these essential fundamentals laid down in the new Constitution are fully translated into practice, the much-desired political reform and reform of local government can be considered as successful. In order to push the reform processes forward, more active participation of people of all walks of life as well as institutions and professions is much needed. As the country’s political system is geared towards a more participatory nature by the new Constitution, Thai society must be aware and prepared to take part in political life. Local governance is where citizens can learn how to participate and represent their interests.

References

Adrian Atkinson and ed., Public Participation, Thailand Environment Institute, Bangkok, 1996

Chai-anan Samudavanija, Parichart Chotiya and eds., Municipality in the Context of Decentralization, Institute of Policy Studies, Bangkok, 1996 (in Thai)

Chuwong Chayabutra, Thai Local Government, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 1996, (in Thai)

Thanet Charoenmuang, 100 Years of Thai Local Government 1887-1997, Kobfai Publisher, Bangkok, 1997 (in Thai)

Go to the beginning of the document